coffee
Now This is Blasphemy!
I thought a Dell Mini 10v running OS X was blasphemy, but no. This is the definition of blasphemy!
The cost of my favorite Royal Mills/Ito En canned ice coffee drinks have gone up yet again. Regular price at Don Quijote is now $1 a can, a single can! On sale, one can goes for $0.77. Back in two thousand and late aka 2007, these same drinks went for $0.55 a can. In 2008, they were $0.65 a can.
How Much Caffeine?
You ever wonder what’s the caffeine content in your drink? Here’s a great poster that shows how much caffeine buzz you’ll get from a variety of popular drinks.
I didn’t think Starbuck’s java would be so potent, even at 12 oz of the brew. So that 16-oz grande must really get you popping! Usually, the little canned Starbucks Doubleshot gets me jumpy, but that’s still weaker than most vendors’ coffees. I’m guessing that the iced coffee at Starbucks has essentially the same caffeine content as its hot counterpart. I wonder how my preferred Royal Mills Iced Cappuccino rates?
And what memories! Royal Mills Kona Espresso was so good, but now remembering the taste alludes me. 🙁
Starbucks Gold Card Gotcha
For members of the Starbucks Rewards program that replaced Starbucks Gold, in order to collect points, you need to pay with your Rewards Card. If you use another Starbucks payment card, you won’t receive your points even if you show your Rewards Card.
Yes, you can consolidate cards, transferring the balance of a Starbucks card to your Rewards Card, but it’ll take a bit of time with the cashier. And a bunch of stink eyes glaring at you as you hold up the line of caffeine-addicted patrons wait for their coffee fix.
Starbucks Gold Is Now Starbucks Rewards
The Starbucks Gold program is phasing out in 2009 and being replaced by a revised My Starbucks Rewards membership program. Current Starbucks Gold members should be getting their replacement, custom gold-level My Starbucks Reward card in the mail.
Did you get yours?
Holiday Gift Guide: Mr. Coffee Cafe Frappe
Make your own ice blended coffee drinks with a Mr. Coffee Cafe Frappe. It’s like a coffee maker and blender combined into one compact package for self-indulgent drinks.
All You Need Is Love
Since you’re ready for love & peace and unity, you know that All You Need Is Love. That’s the name of the Christmas CD you get at Starbucks with a purchase of $15 or more. This four-track CD features:
- Playing for Change
- U2
- Dave Matthews
- John Legend
With your purchase and CD gift, Starbucks will donate $1 to the Global Fund to fight AIDS in Africa. Go ahead and indulge. It’s not that hard to spend $15 at Starbucks. Why not try the new Caramel Brulee Latte and get a bag of the Christmas Blend? Like this.
I got my love, how about you?
Tall-er via VIA
Just scored a free tall Starbucks coffee by buying a pack of Starbucks VIA ready brew. And I got $1 off the purchase as well. 🙂
Starbucks Tarnishes its Gold Card
Starbucks is revising its Gold rewards membership program, more or less neutralizing its appeal. Even though the annual membership fee was $25, you easily recouped the cost with the 10% discount perk. That discount is no more in the “improved” Gold card program.
Starting on December 26, 2009, the new program rolls out in a tiered system. Each use of the Rewards Card gets you one star. By collecting stars, you unlock more benefits, going from the Welcome to Green to Gold Levels. Once you reach the Gold Level (30 stars), you get a free drink for every 15 stars(!).
Current Gold Card members get to enjoy the Holidays with their current benefits extended until January 5, 2010. Also, current members will automatically start the new program at the Gold Level and receive their new and personalized membership card in a welcome packet.
The details of the new Starbucks Rewards program can be found here.
That 10% discount was just too good to be true. The new benefits are nice but surely not worthy of a gold status. As a freebie, I’ll keep going with the program (why not?), but sadly, the Starbucks Gold Card is now just like any other frequent buyer card.
Uninspired by International Delight Coffee House Inspirations
So I caved in and opened my International Delight White Chocolate Mocha coffee creamer early. Touted as a coffee house inspiration, I was sadly left uninspired. I couldn’t taste a thing in my coffee. Maybe this creamer is geared towards sophisticated palettes that can detect subtle nuances whereas my tastes tend towards bold and simple.
Like with Western Digital hard drives, I continue to get burned with the visual appeal of International Delight. When will I learn? Oh wait, I forgot that I have a weak mind.
International Delight Still in the Game
International Delight is still competing in the coffee creamer battles with Coffeemate, releasing three new flavors, White Chocolate Mocha, Caramel Macchiato, and Vanilla Latte. These new “coffee house inspirations” come in newly designed, stylish silver and black bottles.
I have to say that International Delight probably has the best packaging designs and names for their creamer flavors. Too bad the actual taste of the creamers don’t live up to the hype. No matter which ones I try, I always fall back to Coffeemate which simply tastes better.
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